The Gift
by Senshi of the Moon
Summary: Brock makes a gift for a special person in his life, but there's much more to it than it seems.


Disclaimer: The characters ain't mine. They belong to Nintendo, Game Freak,  
  
and uh those other guys.  
  
A/N: Okay, this fanfic has some minor spoilers for a certain episode in Johto, "Beauty and the Breeder". So if you haven't seen that episode, this won't make much sense to you. Anyway onward with the fic....  
  
Brock finished off gift wrapping the box by placing a ribbon at the top.  
  
"Finally done." He said softly.  
  
For several weeks he had been working quite hard on a particular item, trying to make it as perfect as possible. The person he was going to give it to seemed only to deserve the best from him.  
  
"Hey, guys, I'm going to be visiting an old friend for a couple of days, okay? Try to stick around here until then." Brock told Ash, May and Max.  
  
"Sure, Brock. But where are you going?" Ash inquired.  
  
"Somewhere..."  
  
"Somewhere?" Max asked.  
  
"Er, yeah." Brock responded sheepishly.  
  
"What a pretty box!" May exclaimed as soon as she saw the beautifully decorated parcel.  
  
"Yeah, it's for a friend....Now I really have to go catch the blimp." Brock then walked swiftly out the door. "Goodbye, everyone! See you soon!"  
  
The others shouted their farewells soon after.  
  
"Where could he be going?" Ash wondered.  
  
"Isn't it obvious? He's probably going to give a present to a pretty girl he knows." Max replied.  
  
"That's so sweet!" May said, thoughts of love and romance clouding her head.  
  
"Well, I hope he comes back soon. I have badges to go win." Ash declared as he stroked Pikachu behind the ear.  
  
On the blimp ride to his destination, many thoughts ran by Brock's mind.  
  
II haven't even spoken to her in months. It'll be weird to even see her again after what happened last time.....Would she even care about this?/I  
  
He took the package out of his knapsack and stared at it. He wondered about his exact motives in doing this, what he could get out of giving his gift away. Not much came to his mind, making him confused.  
  
"Why am I even doing this?" Brock asked himself.  
  
The man sitting next to the spiky haired breeder shrugged. "How should I know?"  
  
Brock, feeling slightly embarrassed, slid down in his chair.  
  
The next day, he was in Scissors Street in Celadon City. "Here it is." He muttered.  
  
Then he walked up to the salon....her salon. He stepped inside; he saw her braiding the hair of a Growlithe.  
  
"Beautiful! I'm sure this Growlithe is going to win the beauty pageant." Suzie said.  
  
"I hope so!" The trainer replied enthusiastically.  
  
"Uhm...." Brock began but was interrupted.  
  
"Suzie!" A male voice called.  
  
Brock began to feel his stomache hurt as he heard the voice.  
  
"Oh, Zane! Hi!" Suzie said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.  
  
The sight made Brock cringe, causing him a more painful ache. He turned to leave when Suzie spotted him.  
  
"Brock! Brock, is that you?"  
  
He turned to her, forcing himself to smile. "Yeah! It sure is!"  
  
"Oh Brock! I've missed you!" She then put her arms around him and hugged him.  
  
"So...have I...." He managed to say.  
  
"Hey, it's been a long time." Zane said as he approached them.  
  
"I know...It really has..." The boy retorted.  
  
"So what brings you around here?" Suzie questioned.  
  
"Well, I needed to, uh, give you something..." Brock replied. "Could we talk alone? It'll be quick. I promise."  
  
"Sure." Suzie turned to her customer. "Could I-?"  
  
"Ofcourse!" The trainer cut her off.  
  
"And..." Suzie then looked at Zane.  
  
"Well, yeah..." Zane replied, yet an uncertainty lingered in his voice.  
  
"Let's go to the back room." Suzie motioned Brock to follow her.  
  
When the two were alone, an awkward silence followed. They couldn't look at one and other straight in the eyes, there was an obvious unspoken uncomfort. Without saying a word, Brock searched through his bag and pulled out the gift. He then held it out for her to retrieve.  
  
The girl was surprised. "Y-you..."  
  
"I remembered your birthday, Suzie. I'd never forget something like that..." He said softly.  
  
She then opened her present. A small Vulpix stuffed doll was in the middle of a heap of red tissue paper. "Vulpix..."  
  
"I also know that it's your favorite Pokemon... and that you had always wanted one of those as a child but could never find one....Heh, I couldn't find it either so I made you one."  
  
"Brock, I..."  
  
"I remember," He began. "Every single email you've sent me. You really appreciated the tips I'd give you and tell me how great a breeder I would be one day. I remember us talking about how our days went, how well things were going. We talked about walks in the rain and looking up at the stars at night and....love."  
  
Tears welled up in Suzie's eyes. "I...I remember too."  
  
"And...then I guess I mistook that for flirting. I thought we...I thought we could actually have a chance. You were never like the other girls I'd met. Y-you and I had so much in common, the same interests, the same goals... You were everything I wanted in a woman, Suzie."  
  
"Brock...."  
  
He cut her off. "And when I went to Bonitaville to see you...all I wanted to do was hold you and kiss you, possibly romance you into being with me. Then Zane came into the picture and I knew that I wouldn't stand a chance."  
  
"I...I thought you might have had feelings for me but I just ignored that, thinking I was just jumping to conclusions...I never wanted to hurt you, Brock..." She said, a tear running down her cheek.  
  
"I know that."  
  
Perhaps, this is why he had made the gift, to give him some sort of excuse to return to her and to get his feelings off his chest. He sighed, feeling guilty for probably ruining the girl's birthday.  
  
"Brock, thank you for this present. I've never had anything like this be given to me before." The female breeder then looked up at him, smiling. "It means so much to me that...even after the pain I caused you, you still come to give something so meaningful like this."  
  
Then it hit him.  
  
"Suzie..."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I think I know why I came back here..." He grinned. "I just...I just wanted to see you smile again. It's the most beautiful smile a woman has ever given me."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Oh, Brock!" Suzie then put her arms around him, this time in a more loving embrace.  
  
"Suzie..." He whispered into her ear.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I would have made you happy."  
  
"I...I know."  
  
Then Vulpix came into the room. "Vulpix! Vul!"  
  
Brock and Suzie stepped away from eachother. "Hey, Vulpix! I was wondering where you'd been!" Brock bent down and pet it on the head.  
  
"Suzie," Zane peeked in from behind the door. "You need to finish up with this customer so we can go to dinner."  
  
"I know! I'm going!" Suzie replied.  
  
Brock then got up. "I need to go too." He turned to Zane. "Take care of her."  
  
Zane only nodded.  
  
The boy turned to Suzie, smiling. "Goodbye."  
  
"Goodbye, Brock."  
  
In just two days, Brock returned to his friends.  
  
"Brock, where did you go?" Ash asked.  
  
May then got infront of him. "Yeah! Did you get to win the heart of the girl you gave it to?"  
  
"How would you know it was a girl?" Brock replied, amused.  
  
"This is you we're talking about!" Max exclaimed.  
  
"So? So?" The young girl asked.  
  
"All I can say is...that I didn't get the girl...and I'm finally okay with that."  
  
"Huh?" May's mouth hung open in shock.  
  
"Besides, I think I have a chance with the Nurse Joy from this city!" He cried out.  
  
The other sweatdropped. "Same old Brock..." They mumbled in unison.  
  
Brock turned away from the group and smirked.  
  
End. 


End file.
